...an award-nominated Irish blog on Irish history and Irish politics-from today and yesterday:all 32 Counties !Updated a number of times each week . (Mirror site here)

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"1169 And Counting is a wealth of information on our Republican past and present , and demonstrates how the Irish political landscape , like that of any nation, will never be a black and white issue..."

IRISH BLOG AWARDS 2017 - ooops! It seems that our entry application was "not completed in time to be considered.." (?) and, as such, we are not now in the running. But we wish all the best to the successful entrants and to the organisers, and we hope all goes well for them on the day!

Saturday, October 18, 2003

THE B-SPECIALS ; 1920 - 1970 .......

....... by Christmas Day , 1925 , the'A' and 'C'-Specials were no more ; but the B-Specials had been 'beefed-up' -- it was now , in reality , the ' Ulster Volunteer Force ' loyalist terror-gang in a British uniform , operating as per usual , but this time with the official protection of Westminster .......

The B-Specials seen the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960's as a personal challenge to their 'position ' in society and took no prisoners when told to " police and monitor " the meetings and marches associated with those looking for equal treatment under British jurisdiction . The B-Specials left many a bloody footprint in the street . Ironically , it was the fact that they suppressed the Civil Rights campaign so viciously which led to their disbandment .....

......their blatant sectarianism , witnessed by the worlds media ( courtesy of an RTE camera-crew on the spot) acutely embarrassed the Brits ; in October 1969 , Westminster pulled-off another 'sleight-of-hand' trick , comparable to that of 1920 , when they put the Ulster Volunteer Force loyalist gun-gang into a British uniform and called them the B-Specials ........ (MORE LATER).

THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .

CLASHMEALCON CAVES.......

"....... Free State troops captured IRA man Jim McEnery in the Causeway area , but let him go ; later , other Free State troops arrived and surrounded McEnery's house , thinking he was inside -- two IRA men looking on thought the same , and opened fire on the Free Staters ......."

" Jim McEnery , meanwhile , had been sighted and was pursued . His friend , Tom McGrath , saw those in pursuit and fired on them , diverting them to himself . He retreated to Clashmealcon and there disappeared . Reinforcements from the Free State post at Ballyheigue , advancing to surround McEnery's house , came under the cross-fire from their own troops and the Republicans .

They all scattered over the country then and McEnery's house was left in peace . Catherine McEnery , Jim's sister , looked out and saw a stray soldier threatening two young Republican scouts . She went up and he turned to her , excited and frightened . " They'll plug me ," he said , " for running away ! " She took him prisoner and gave him a cup of tea . ' Aero ' Lyons came to the house with Hathaway , Shea and Greaney .

The poor Free State soldier who , in his own barracks , had seen prisoners killed , upset the dresser in a terrified effort to escape ......." (MORE LATER).

MICHAEL McDOWELL.......

[from 'The Sunday Times' , 21st July , 1985 , page 1]

From midnight last night , the South African police and army were given extra powers under emergency provisions of the ' Public Security Act 1953 ' which --

-- "..... sanctioned the banning of gatherings , closure of premises and control of traffic , arrest without warrant , and detention of any person in the interests of public order . Magistrates and police officers are empowered to use or authorise force including force resulting in death if persons refuse to heed instructions given in a loud voice . Those arrested without warrant may face indefinite detention . Detainee's may consult a lawyer only with Ministerial permission . "

Our Mick Mc would scale many a lampost if he thought he'd get something like the above .....

....... SAY's " NO " ! ---->

[from 'New Hibernia' magazine , January , 1986 , page 11]

On the 30th November , 1985 , the representative of the Free State administration was one of fifty-two Countries that abstained in a United Nations General Assembly vote on a resolution condemning apartheid in South Africa .

Friday, October 17, 2003

THE B-SPECIALS ; 1920 - 1970 .......

.......on 10th December , 1925 the A-Specials and the C-Specials were told by the Brits that they were no longer needed ; on 14th December 1925 , both gangs mutinied and took hostages --- two days later (16th December 1925) the A-Specials and the C-Specials contacted Unionist leader 'Sir' James Craig and told him they wanted more money to leave their jobs . On 18th December 1925 , they were told to take the original offer or be sacked with no pay-off at all .......

The Brits knew that if they 'gave-in' to the demands of the A-Specials , the C-Specials would look for the same and the B-Specials would then in all probability look for a cash bonus as well --- it had to be 'nipped in the bud' . And it was --- instead of 'sticking to their guns' (!) the A-Specials all but apologised and , within twenty-four hours (ie by the 19th December , 1925) had accepted 'Sir' Craigs offer of two months pay per member -- they were now on the dole !

By Christmas Day , 1925 , the A-Specials and the C-Specials were no more . However , the other outfit , the B-Specials , were 'beefed-up' --- their numbers were increased and a new British 'law' , the ' Special Powers Act ' , gave them practically retrospective authority ie if an act they committed was a bit on the ' dodgy ' side , the 'Act' would be invoked to cover their action !

The organised , uniformed and armed band of thugs known as the B-Specials had sprung from the ranks of the loyalist killer-gang , the ' Ulster Volunteer Force '( UVF) in 1920; the Specials carried-on as if they had never left the UVF terror-gang --- pogroms against the Nationalist population continued , although now the perpetrator's wore a British uniform , were paid to crack "fenian skulls" and were protected by their political masters for doing so ....... (MORE LATER).

THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .

CLASHMEALCON CAVES.......

"....... Clashmealcon ; sun and wind , at high tide , when the foam is leaping , is a scene of elemental life--- at night , it is like a tomb ......."

" 'Aero' Lyons , christened Timothy , won the name by which he will be remembered by dropping out of the sky , as it seemed , whenever he was least expected and seeming to be in a dozen places at once . A light , lean , hardy man in build , he delighted in activity and in danger . He had a child's love of going about , where he was most keenly hunted , in disguise , and there was laughter in nearly every adventure of his , whatever the period . His was a name of power : while an invisible outlaw , marked out to be shot at sight , he would rule his district as a potentate and be obeyed .

He had the lighthearted bravery of spirit that leads Irishmen to early death . It was on a day in the middle of April that Free State troops came to Causeway to make a round-up . From ditches and hollows on every side , Lyons and the nine men under him kept them fighting all day until at nightfall the others gave up the chase . One of his comrades , Jim McEnery , had a house close to his mother's , a mile or so from the cliffs . He was married and had a little son . His sister Catherine was never without anxiety for him ; she had it in her mind always that he was doomed -- he had a grave , patient look , sometimes , like a man facing great pain . She used to be very watchful about the place .

His house was raided early on Sunday morning and he was arrested . If only he had been taken to prison then .... but his guards let him escape , as though it was meant ; he ran out to seek refuge among the cliffs . Later , more Free State troops came and surrounded the house , not knowing what had occurred . His comrades saw them from a house across the road and two of them , Shea and Hathaway , knowing nothing of his escape , opened fire ......" (MORE LATER).

MORE THAN 1 WAY.......

[from 'AP/RN' , 28th November , 1985 , page 5]

At a meeting of Lisburn Council on 25th November , 1985-- a Monday , if memory serves -- , Democratic Unionist Party Councillor William Beattie stated that - " 50,000 armed men would solve the Northern Ireland (sic) problem ."

Beattie then advised Irish Republicans to " leave Ulster " (sic) or else they would be " kicking up the daisies from 12 feet under " !

In April 1963 the then South African Minister for 'Justice' , Jon Vorster , when introducing a new ' Coercion Bill ' to Parliament , stated that he would exchange all such legislation for-- ".... just one clause of Northern Irelands (sic) Special Powers Act . " !

Yourself and the 'Batty' fella should get together , Jon--- soul-mates on the same Christmas-card list .....

Thursday, October 16, 2003

THE B-SPECIALS ; 1920 - 1970 .......

.......on 10th December , 1925 , Unionist leader 'Sir' James Craig told the A-Specials and the C-Specials that they were to be disbanded immediately --- he offered each man two months pay if they would just resign there and then ; they wanted more .......

On 14th December , 1925 , in Derry and Ballycastle , the A-Specials mutinied and imprisoned their own Officer Corps ! ; other areas followed suit . On 16th December , 1925, the A-Specials contacted 'Sir' James Craig and told him they wanted the proposed two months pay plus a two-hundred-pounds Sterling tax-free bonus for each man !

On the 18th December , 1925, one of Craig's minion's , a Dawson Bates , told the A-Specials that there would be no change in the original offer -- he threatened the A-Specials further by stating that if they did not accept the offer on the table they would be dismissed , sacked on the spot -- with no financial ' hand-shake ' at all ....... (MORE LATER).

THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .

CLASHMEALCON CAVES

" The story of 'Aero' Lyons and his five companions and how they stood siege for three nights and days in Clashmealcon Caves will be told in Ireland while men praise the fighters for freedom -- " while grass grows and water runs. " Dark , impregnable cliffs confront the Atlantic from Kerry Head to Kilmore . At the foot of the cliff , long ridges run out to the breakers that crash over them in tempestuous riots of foam .

At Clashmealcon stands a tall , isolated turret of rock , guarding a narrow , horse-shoe shaped creek , whose base has been bitten in far under the cliff . Here seagulls and cormorants breed; the tufted sea-pinks root in every crevice - soft winds , gorse-scented , blow from the wild spaces inland , while below , round the lonely pinnacle , the ocean breakers battle and swirl and foam . On a day of sun and wind at high tide , when the sea and the sky are blue and the foam is leaping , it is a scene of elemental , rejoicing life .

At night , under a brooding sky , when the ocean is beating heavily on the rocks , it is like a tomb or a place of mourning for Ireland's dead . " (MORE LATER).

A WOLF IN .......

[from 'AP/RN' , 5th December , 1985 , page 16]

Gandhi said ---

--- " Where the choice is set between cowardice and violence , I would advise violence . This is because he who run's away commits mental violence , he has not the courage of facing death by killing . I would a thousand times prefer violence than the emasculation of a whole race . I prefer to use arm's in defence of honour rather than remain the vile witness of dishonour . "

The 'establishment' will quote the man ad nauseam when it suits them -- all except the above quote . For obvious reasons ...

.......SHEEPS CLOTHING --->

[from 'The Sunday Times' , 28th July , 1985 , page 39]

In North Devon , Britain , a law was passed in 1678 compelling everyone to be buried in wool !

And when the Brits stopped being buried in it , they tried to pull it over everyone's eyes !

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

THE B-SPECIALS ; 1920 - 1970........

.......the pro-British Unionist regime in the Six County Stormont 'parliament' was now in control of the re-named 'Police' force , the Royal Ulster Constabulary ; the thirty-five-thousand strong gang of 'Ulster Special Constabulary' were now surplus to requirements --- redundancies were on offer .......

Westminster ( which held the purse-strings ) offered a lump sum of one-million-two-hundred-thousand pounds Sterling to be divided between the A-Specials and the C-Specials-- the other gang , the B-Specials , ( " the cutting edge ") were to be kept as they were . The Specials , being the mercenaries they were , turned on themselves : the B-Specials were happy enough , although a bit fretful - they wondered when their masters in Westminster would turn on them . But for now , they had a job , a 'career' , which paid them well for suppressing their Nationalist neighbours .

The ( by now ) three-thousand-five-hundred-and-fifty-three full-time A-Specials and the approximate similar number of C-Specials were told by Loyalist leader James Craig ( now a British 'Sir' ) on 10th December 1925 that they were to be disbanded immediately ; he offered them two months pay each if they would just resign --- they wanted more ....... (MORE LATER).

THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924.

The War of Brothers .......

".......the passion of the Kerry people for freedom from the British was almost spiritual -- pitted against the enemy , Kerry was full of heroes . But when that passion was denied and stifled , it made for dangerous and treacherous men ......."

" Of Kerry and the old wars with the British terrible stories are told ; of Kerry and the war of our own time with England there are more terrible stories still , stories that will haunt those glens and dark lochs and waste places for all time . The men who spilled out their lives there for Ireland were kindly and gentle men -- everywhere the same tale is told . But they were brave , and they lived under foreign rule which would make a crime of a man's native valour and a virture of acquiescence in evil things .

It would have been the destiny of those young Kerry men , in a free Ireland , to live vigorous , well-reputed , achieving lives , to observe their generation a little , and die , and be remembered a little while .

It was their destiny to live a score or more of poverty-bitten years , burdened and obscure ; to rise up in their passionate valour and hurl themselves against Ireland's enemy --- to die violent deaths , to become the awakeners and redeemers of their nation , and be remembered while Ireland lives . "

[END].

MINORITY.......

[from ' The Sunday Times ' , 12th January , 1986 , page 37]

In America , man-made 'vegetables' are to be marketed , which have been developed through agricultural biotechnology by a company called ' DNA Plant Technology' of New Jersey . The new ' food ' group , called "vegisnax" , will be tailored to customers requirements .

The company , ' DNA Plant Technology ' , claimed that they were also working on " a redesign of the tomato "! If scientists were capable of DNA 'redesign' seventeen years ago , what are they up to now ? And with what?

.......REPORT --->

[from ' The Sunday Times ' , 5th January , 1986 , page 9]

All Italian hotels are obliged by law to pass their residents names and passport numbers to the police who , in turn , pass the information on to the 'Interior Ministry' . Once there , a Tom Cruise ' do-alike ' feeds that info into a computer for cross-checks with the names of wanted persons !

.......the pro-British Unionist regime in the Six County Stormont 'parliament' was now in control of the re-named 'Police' force , the Royal Ulster Constabulary ; the thirty-five-thousand strong gang of 'Ulster Special Constabulary' were now surplus to requirements --- redundancies were on offer .......

Westminster ( which held the purse-strings ) offered a lump sum of one-million-two-hundred-thousand pounds Sterling to be divided between the A-Specials and the C-Specials-- the other gang , the B-Specials , ( " the cutting edge ") were to be kept as they were . The Specials , being the mercenaries they were , turned on themselves : the B-Specials were happy enough , although a bit fretful - they wondered when their masters in Westminster would turn on them . But for now , they had a job , a 'career' , which paid them well for suppressing their Nationalist neighbours .

The ( by now ) three-thousand-five-hundred-and-fifty-three full-time A-Specials and the approximate similar number of C-Specials were told by Loyalist leader James Craig ( now a British 'Sir' ) on 10th December 1925 that they were to be disbanded immediately ; he offered them two months pay each if they would just resign --- they wanted more ....... (MORE LATER).

THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924.

The War of Brothers .......

".......the passion of the Kerry people for freedom from the British was almost spiritual -- pitted against the enemy , Kerry was full of heroes . But when that passion was denied and stifled , it made for dangerous and treacherous men ......."

" Of Kerry and the old wars with the British terrible stories are told ; of Kerry and the war of our own time with England there are more terrible stories still , stories that will haunt those glens and dark lochs and waste places for all time . The men who spilled out their lives there for Ireland were kindly and gentle men -- everywhere the same tale is told . But they were brave , and they lived under foreign rule which would make a crime of a man's native valour and a virture of acquiescence in evil things .

It would have been the destiny of those young Kerry men , in a free Ireland , to live vigorous , well-reputed , achieving lives , to observe their generation a little , and die , and be remembered a little while .

It was their destiny to live a score or more of poverty-bitten years , burdened and obscure ; to rise up in their passionate valour and hurl themselves against Ireland's enemy --- to die violent deaths , to become the awakeners and redeemers of their nation , and be remembered while Ireland lives . "

[END].

MINORITY.......

[from ' The Sunday Times ' , 12th January , 1986 , page 37]

In America , man-made 'vegetables' are to be marketed , which have been developed through agricultural biotechnology by a company called ' DNA Plant Technology' of New Jersey . The new ' food ' group , called "vegisnax" , will be tailored to customers requirements .

The company , ' DNA Plant Technology ' , claimed that they were also working on " a redesign of the tomato "! If scientists were capable of DNA 'redesign' seventeen years ago , what are they up to now ? And with what?

.......REPORT --->

[from ' The Sunday Times ' , 5th January , 1986 , page 9]

All Italian hotels are obliged by law to pass their residents names and passport numbers to the police who , in turn , pass the information on to the 'Interior Ministry' . Once there , a Tom Cruise ' do-alike ' feeds that info into a computer for cross-checks with the names of wanted persons !

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

THE B-SPECIALS ; 1920 - 1970 .......

.......an incident with the 'Specials' , which the Brits would rather forget about , took place on the night of 23rd January 1921 ; a fifteen-man unit of the A-Specials from Fermanagh drove to Clones in County Monaghan and broke into a pub.......

The A-Special burglars looted the till , looking for the 'money-float' , sampled the beverages on the premises and proceeded to thrash the building . Locals alerted the Royal Irish Constabulary (British 'police' force) , who arrived in force , within minutes , and armed; the RIC opened fire on the premises , killing one of the A-Specials and seriously wounding a number of others . The RIC later admitted thinking that the pub-looters were 'ODC's' or IRA !

June 1921; the new Six-County state came into existence -- by the end of that year the Stormont regime had taken command of the ( now re-named ) 'police' force-- the 'Royal Ulster Constabulary' (RUC) . The 'Ulster Special Constabulary' were now also controlled by the Unionists in Stormont . In 1925 , with the Six Counties " firmly established as a separate entity " , as the Brits and the Free Staters would have it , there was now no need to maintain the thirty-five thousand strong Specials as they were then constituted ---

--- redundancies were on the cards ........ (MORE LATER).

THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924.

The war of brothers .......

".......the small farms feed as many of the family as is possible ; the rest go to America with a heavy heart ......."

" If there is hardness in the land and in the life of the people , there is no meanness in it . They look out over wide spaces ; God's world is before their imagination -- the past and the future of Ireland are in their daily thought . There is grace and kindliness in their homes , and they give hospitality as their forefathers gave it in the days of their chieftainship in the land .

There is wisdom in them that should be shaping the mind of their generation ; bravery and freedom are in their spirit , and unyielding pride . They are of the nobility of Ireland , the clans who , because they would not surrender their faith and nationhood , were cast out by the conqueror into the wilderness . Not from gathering in crowds and listening to orations the men of Kerry have stored up the passion for Ireland's freedom that is in their blood .

From their mothers --- proud-spirited Kerry women --- and from their mother Eire , that passion seems to be born . It is a thing of spiritual life or death that there is no evading : purified by spendthrift sacrifice it makes heroes - denied and stifled , it makes dangerous and treacherous men . " (MORE LATER).

U S President Lyndon Johnson had grave doubts about U S involvement in Vietnam as early as May 1964--- in a taped conversation with his 'National Security' adviser , McGeorge Bundy , Lyndon Johnson stated that Vietnam was not worth fighting for and called the conflict ---

Monday, October 13, 2003

THE B-SPECIALS ; 1920 - 1970 .......

.......in December , 1920 the new A-Specials moved into RIC (Unionist 'Police' force) barracks and thousands of RIC men were now free from 'desk-duty' and could roam the streets ; in February 1921, fifteen-thousand B-Specials were let loose on the public.......

Those B-Specials that were not ex-UVF men were said to have been unsuitable even for membership of that loyalist gun-gang--- one can only imagine how deranged they must have been , and how delighted to find themselves in an 'official' British military uniform , with a full weapons kit at their disposal .......

The number of C-Specials was never properly determined ; this grouping had no specific duties , but were presumed to be 'ready for action' in an "emergency situation" . Each 'C'-man would be allowed carry some weapons and would be entitled to a gun-licence ( while most nationalists were not ) . In effect , the C-Specials were a device to encourage the Unionist population to arm itself .

One of the most embarrassing ( for theBrits) incidents with the 'Specials' occurred on the night of 23rd January , 1921; a fifteen-man unit of the A-Specials from Newtownbutler in County Fermanagh drove to Clones in County Monaghan and broke into a pub ....... (MORE LATER)>

THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924.

THE WAR OF BROTHERS.......

".......KERRY = waters racing over zig-zag cataracts down from the hillcrests; water in stony hollows , weedy rivers meandering over bogs......."

" Starved as the stony soil is , so the people are . They live anxiously by fishing or on farms -- little farms won by the bitter labour of generations out of the mountain-side . When a hundred sunken boulders have been wrenched and uprooted with iron bars and piled along four sides , a man's field is made; the son that is growing up will have strength , God helping , to add another field before he is old .

They have staked out claims for their descendants up to the very summits of the stony hills . The farm keeps as many of a family as it can feed; the rest go to America and break their hearts there , very often , for a breath of the Kerry air , for the life that is lived at home ......." (MORE LATER).

During the Haughey/Thatcher summit in 1980 , the then Fianna Fail leader indicated that in return for a united Ireland "we" might be prepared to give up the States neutrality ! After the Summit , Sile de Valera stated ---

--- " A united Ireland and independent Ireland could well make possible a fresh approach to the consideration of her place within the scheme of western defence . "

In February of that same year (1985) , the then Deputy Leader of the S.D.L.P. , Seamus Mallon , stated that he , too , would trade neutrality for unity .

NOTE TO HOUSE-BURGLARS--- if you break-in to Haughey's house , Sile de Valera's house or Mallon's house , and take something , you're on a winner; they're bound to offer you something else of their's in exchange for it!

........ROBBERY --->

[from 'The Sunday Tribune' , 13th July , 1997]

The 'Sunningdale Agreement' of 1973 acknowledged the fact that the Six Counties " are part of the geographical entity of Ireland . "

A position that the " powers-that-be " attempted to reverse in the Stormont Treaty of 1998 .

Sunday, October 12, 2003

.......on6th September , 1920 , the 'Ulster Special Constabulary' was established by Westminster; it was to be formed in three separate units --- the A-Specials , B-Specials and the C-Specials .......

In October , 1920 , a J. R. Clynes , of the British Labour Party objected to the formation of the 'Ulster Special Constabulary' claiming (correctly) that the British Government were " legally arming the Orangemen " . However , a recruitment drive for the ' Ulster Special Constabulary ' began in November 1920 , and the ' Ulster Volunteer Force '(UVf - a Unionist killer gang) issued orders to its membership to apply to join the B-Specials--- the RIC( Unionist 'police' force) also came out publicly with an appeal for the UVF to join the new B-Specials ; thousands of UVF men applied and were accepted .

In December , 1920 , the new A-Specials moved into RIC barracks ; there was three-thousand-five-hundred 'A'-members , meaning that thousands of RIC men would soon be available to roam the streets of Ireland , causing disturbances which they could then blame on the Nationalists ; the new B-Specials( UVF men in uniform) were unleashed on the public in February 1921--- fifteen-thousand of them ........ (MORE LATER).

THE TRAGEDIES OF KERRY , by Dorothy Macardle - first published in 1924 .

THE WAR OF BROTHERS.......

"........the Free State soldiers took to alcohol to ease their consciences ; they were chasing down their old comrades and being forced to torture and execute them in prison-camps and on the roadsides......."

" The Free State Government was subject to England , bound by oath and interest to the English King . It was pledged to do the Empire's work , and the Empire's work can be done only in the Empire's way . That way , even , wins no lasting victory . That policy was pursued , with most concentrated vigour , in Kerry , in the Spring of 1923 . And in Kerry it has most surely failed . A traveller goes from Killarney to West Kerry and to North and South-west Kerry as a bird flying out of a nest into windy skies .

In Killarney there were rich lawns and shrubberies and woods with laurels and rhododendrons ; here there are stark mountains and boggy wastes . Here there are rocks thrusting up against the sky on the mountain-ridges , thrusting out into the Atlantic at the feet of the crags , rearing up , precipitous islands , out of the sea . Here are waters racing in zig-zag cataracts down from the hillcrests ; water in stony hollows , dark and still . Inlets from the ocean , glowing blue , weedy rivers meandering over bogs......." (MORE LATER).

NOT FIT.......

[from ' The Sunday Times' , 9th June , 1985]

On 13th March , 1856 , the then British Queen , Victoria , was asked to visit Woolwich to review the return of British troops from the Crimea War; her Office agreed , on her behalf , with one condition -- that the soldiers who lost limbs or who in any other way looked wounded be kept away ! Did'nt want to embarrass , or offend , the old dear and , more importantly , did'nt want to publicise the fact that the Brits suffered as much (almost) as they inflicted in that conflict .

Fine Gael Councillor John Quirke , a member of Wexford County Council since 1967 , lost his sight three years ago (ie 1982) . Before the selection convention last month (April '85) to pick Enniscorthy candidates for the County Council elections , he was visited by what he termed as " a high-ranking Fine Gael Party Official " following which Quirke failed to win one of the nominations . He said ---

--- " I have no doubt the fact that I went blind three years ago was held against me by the Fine Gael Party National(sic) Executive . They made it known they would not ratify my candidature if I was selected by a local convention . It was denied my blindness was the reason for me not to go forward , but it is obvious that was the reason . I am bitterly disappointed that my handicap should be used against me . "

Much to serious an issue for a smart-arse comment like " the blind leading ....... "